A kickboxer has denied being a professional hitman who shot a reality TV star’s brother – telling a jury he was in London to look at Netflix and chill ‘with a woman he met online.
Anis Hemissi, 24, was allegedly the gunman who murdered Flamur ‘Alex’ Beqiri, 36, in front of his family in Battersea, southwest London, on December 24, 2019.
He is said to have donned disguises, including latex masks and a garbage collector’s outfit, to conduct reconnaissance in the days leading up to the shooting.
Southwark Crown Court has been informed that Mr Beqiri – whose sister Misse Beqiri, 35, appeared on the reality show The Real Housewives Of Cheshire – was “involved in serious and organized activities criminality‘, including international drug trafficking.
Flamur ‘Alex’ Beqiri, 36, a Swedish national of Albanian descent and whose sister Misse Beqiri appeared in Real Housewives Of Cheshire, was murdered outside his £ 1.5million house in Battersea, south- West London, Christmas Eve 2019 (both pictured)
The threshold of Mr Beqiri’s house in Battersea, southwest London, where the shooting took place on Christmas Eve 2019
Prosecutors allege Hemissi was part of a team of four killers sent from Sweden to murder the father of two as part of a bitter rivalry between two organized criminal networks in the Scandinavian country.
But testifying on Monday, Hemissi said he flew to London from Copenhagen, Denmark on December 20, 2019 to meet 22-year-old Nadine, who had befriended him on Facebook.
He told jurors that she was one of the “over 20 girls” he spoke to on social media and dating apps, including Tinder, at the time.
“At the end of November, I asked Nadine if she wanted to come to Tunisia because I was there for work,” he says.
“Her father said she was not allowed to come to another country. She asked me if I wanted to come to London because she lived there.
“We were going to have Netflix and relax, relax, maybe go out and eat something, maybe go out and buy some clothes.”
Flamur ‘Alex’ Beqiri, 36, was killed in front of his wife Debora Krasniqi (they are pictured together)
Hemissi said Nadine arranged for him to stay in her friend’s apartment – which was allegedly used by the killers after being rented through Airbnb – but made excuses not to see him.
“I was angry because I was from Sweden,” said Hemissi, who told jurors he spent most of his time playing games and watching TV series.
Defending David Harounoff said: “There may be people in court who find it difficult to accept that you come from Sweden to meet a girl you have never met before. Is what you are saying true? ‘
Her client said: “Yes, it has happened several times before.”
Hemissi, who said he was a professional kickboxer, told jurors he had never heard of Mr Beqiri, had no motive for murdering him, and had not been paid to do it.
He said he may have read in the newspapers some of the “notorious criminals” involved in the Swedish gang conflict, but did not know them and had never met or spoken to them.
Jurors saw CCTV footage of the shooting, which saw Mr Begiri hit by eight bullets as the shooter fired 10 times.
Mr Begiri’s wife, Debora Krasniqi, can be heard screaming and is seen cradling their two-year-old son moments after arriving hand in hand with the victim.
Mr. Harounoff, defending, said: “Just before 9 p.m. on the evening of December 24, 2019, Mr. Beqiri, his wife and their two-year-old child were about to enter (their home).
“An armed man appears from behind and shoots him. The bullets hit his chest, his buttocks, and he died.
Speaking to Hemissi, Mr. Harounoff said: “The prosecution says you were the shooter. Were you the shooter?
Hemissi replied, “No, sir.
Mr Harounoff continued: “The prosecution said the gunman was a professional hitman. Was that you?
Hemissi said again: “No, sir.
Police encountered dressed a model in various latex masks as they tried to find the disguised hitman behind the Christmas Eve shooting of a reality TV star’s brother in 2019, a court has heard . Pictured: CCTV reportedly showed the gunman days before the murder
CCTV footage released earlier in court shows a man dressed in high-visibility clothing posing as a garbage collector dressed in high-visibility clothing staking the victim’s home days before the murder.
Hemissi admitted to purchasing a hi-vis jacket and pants on October 28, but denied being the person captured by the camera.
He told jurors he bought it just before one of his regular business trips to Tunisia, at the behest of a cousin who needed it for his construction business.
Hemissi denies the murder and possession of a self-loading pistol.
Swedish nationals Estevan Pino-Munizaga, 35, Tobias Fredrik Andersson, 32, and Bawer Karaer, 23, also deny the murder, while Clifford Rollox, 31, from Islington, north London, and Claude Isaac Castor, 31, of Catford, south-east London, denies having perverted the course of justice.
The trial continues.
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